Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said on Monday that the State government would take up the second phase of Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project (Kudcemp) in Mangalore, Udupi, Puttur and Kundapur at a cost of Rs. 450 crore.
Addressing presspersons after the tri-monthly Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting, Mr. Sorake said the drinking water, underground drainage and other basic infrastructure, which were incomplete in the first phase, would be completed in the second phase. The project is being implemented with a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
It had been decided to use water from nearby rivers for drinking for Udupi, Kundapur and Saligrama. Though at present Udupi was getting drinking water from Swarna River, this was not enough.
Therefore the government was thinking of providing water from Varahi River to Udupi.
A Rs. 43 crore-plan had been drawn up to provide water to villages under the multi-village scheme. The government was also thinking about implementing the “Paschima Vahini” project, which aimed at constructing dams against rivers flowing towards the west and using water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
KSRTC bus stand
A 2.76 acre plot would be sanctioned for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Bus Stand at Bannanje in Udupi. The government would be urged to sanction money for constructing the bus stand.
The government was planning to widen the Agumbe Ghat road. It also wanted to convert the Shimoga-Agumbe-Udupi road into a national highway.
The government would take up this issue with the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes.
A proposal of Rs. 3 crore had already been submitted to the State government to take up the repair work of the roads belonging to the Fisheries Department. An amount of Rs. 1.5 crore, which had been remaining in the Natural Calamities Fund, would also be used for repairing the roads belonging to the Fisheries Department.
Standing crops across 64.35 hectares of land had been damaged due to heavy rain. The farmers affected by the crop loss would be given input subsidy. The areca growers in the district affected by “Kole Roga” would be given input subsidy.
He said he had directed the officials to review above the poverty line (APL) cardholders to find out if below the poverty line (BPL) people had been wrongly issued APL cards to ensure that the deserving people benefit from the “Anna Bhagya” scheme, which provided rice at Re. 1 a kg.
Varahi project
Efforts would be made to expedite the Varahi Irrigation Project, which had been dragging on for the last three decades. Meetings to review the progress of the project would be held every month.
The State government has already written to the Union government to move certain areas from Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 1 to CRZ-2 or CRZ-3 to facilitate development of basic facilities there, he said.
The road linking Udupi-Karkala-Guruvayanakere-Dharmasthala-Gundya would be widened so as to connect three national highways – 17 (66), 13 (169) and 48, Mr. Sorake said.
